Proverbs 30
Lexham English Bible
The Oracle of Agur
30 The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, the oracle.
Thus says the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal:[a]
2 Certainly I am more stupid than a man,
and the understanding of humankind is not for me.
3 And I have not learned wisdom,
nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One.[b]
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a[c] garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and what is the name of his child?
For surely you know.
5 Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask from you;
do not deny me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and a lying word[d] far from me;
do not give me poverty or wealth;
provide me with food only for my need.
9 Or else I will be satisfied and will deny him
and say “Who is Yahweh?”
Or[e] I will be poor and will steal
and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.
11 There is a generation that will curse its father,
and its mother it will not bless.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.
13 There is a generation—how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids they will lift.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
and its jawbones, knives,
in order to devour the poor from the earth[f]
and the needy from humankind.
15 For the leech, there are two daughters;
“Give, give!” they cry.
As for three of these, they are not satisfied;
as for four, they do not say enough.
16 Sheol[g] and barrenness of womb,
the land is not satisfied with water,
and fire does not say “enough!”
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns the obedience of a mother—
the ravens of the valley will peck it out,
and the offspring of vultures will eat it.
18 Three of these are too wonderful for me,
and four, I do not understand them:
19 the way of the eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of a woman committing adultery:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and says “I have not done wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth[h] trembles,
and under four, it is not able to bear up:
22 under a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is satisfied with food;
23 under an unloved woman when she gets married,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
24 There are four small things on the earth,
and they are exceedingly wise:[i]
25 The ants are a people who are not strong,
yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 the badgers are a people who are not mighty,
yet they set their house on the rock;
27 there is no king for the locust,
yet it marches in rank;
28 a lizard you can seize with hands,
yet it is in palaces of kings.
29 There are three things that are magnificent of stride,
and four that are magnificent when moving:
30 a mighty lion among the beasts,[j]
but he will not turn back from any face;[k]
31 a strutting rooster or he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself,
and if you have devised evil, put your hand to your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curd,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger[l] produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or “I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out”
- Proverbs 30:3 Or “holy ones”
- Proverbs 30:4 Hebrew “the”
- Proverbs 30:8 Literally “word of a lie”
- Proverbs 30:9 Or “Lest”
- Proverbs 30:14 Or “land”
- Proverbs 30:16 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 30:21 Or “land”
- Proverbs 30:24 Literally “wise ones from wise ones”
- Proverbs 30:30 Hebrew “beasts”
- Proverbs 30:30 Literally “faces of all”
- Proverbs 30:33 Literally “nostrils”
Proverbs 30
International Standard Version
The Oracle
30 A discourse by the faithful collector.[a]
This is what this valiant man declared to the God with me,
to the God with me, who then prevailed:[b]
2 Surely I am beyond the senselessness of any man;
I do not perceive things[c] the way human beings do.
3 I never acquired wisdom,
but I know what the Holy One knows.
4 Who has ascended to heaven,
and then descended?
Who has collected the wind in his hands?
Who has wrapped up waters in a garment?
Who has established all the farthest points of the earth?
What is his name,
and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 Everything God says is pure;
he is a shield for those who take refuge in him.
6 Don’t add to his words,
or he will rebuke you,
and you will be shown to be a liar.
On Contentment in Life
7 God,[d] I have asked you for two things—
don’t refuse me before I die—
8 Keep deception and lies far away from me,
and give me neither poverty nor wealth.
Feed me with food that I need for today,[e]
9 so that I don’t become overfed and deny you by saying,
“Who is the Lord?”
or so that I don’t become poor and steal,
and then misuse the name of my God.
On Different Kinds of People
10 Don’t lie about a servant to his master,
or that servant[f] will curse you and you will pay for it.
11 Some people[g] curse their fathers
and won’t bless their mothers.
12 Some people[h] view themselves as pure,
but haven’t been cleansed from their own filth.
13 Some people[i]—what an arrogant look they have!—
raise their eyebrows haughtily.
14 Some people[j] have swords for teeth
and knives for fangs
to devour the afflicted from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
“Give” and “Give”.
Three things will never be satisfied;
four will never say “Enough”—
16 The afterlife,[k] the barren womb,
earth that still demands water,
and fire—they never say, “Enough”.
17 The eye that mocks a father
and looks with a disobedient attitude at[l] a mother—
the valley ravens will pluck it out;
and vultures will eat it.
What Causes Wonder
18 Three things cause wonder for me;
four are beyond my understanding:
19 The way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is what an immoral woman is like:
she eats, wipes her mouth, then says
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot remain steady:
22 Under a slave when he becomes a king,
a fool when he is overfed,
23 an unloved woman when she finds a husband,
and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
but they are very, very wise:
25 Ants aren’t a strong species,[m]
yet they prepare their food in the summer.
26 The rock badgers aren’t a strong species[n] either,
yet they build their dens in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all swarm in ranks.
28 Spiders can be caught by the hand,
yet they’re found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in procession,
four which are stately in their gait:
30 The lion, mighty among the beasts,
retreats before nothing.
31 The strutting rooster, as well as the goat,
and a king with his army.
32 If you’ve foolishly exalted yourself
or if you’ve plotted evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 Just as whipping milk produces butter,
and twisting the nose causes bleeding,
so also stirring up anger produces contention.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or by Jakeh’s son Agur
- Proverbs 30:1 Or declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal
- Proverbs 30:2 The Heb. lacks things
- Proverbs 30:7 The Heb. lacks God
- Proverbs 30:8 Or that is appropriate for me
- Proverbs 30:10 Lit. or he
- Proverbs 30:11 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:12 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:13 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:14 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:16 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
- Proverbs 30:17 Lit. and despises obedience to
- Proverbs 30:25 Lit. people
- Proverbs 30:26 Lit. people
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